they cant cross...can they?

[spish]

i have a little flock of white 'scovie girls who are just beginning to lay...ive got them apart at the moment in the hope of finding them a white drake...but no luck just yet. My problem is my randy crested black swedish keeps finding his way across the farm and into the girls coop.....and, well, doing his busness with them. i keep pulling him out of there (how he's getting in is a mystery) but im trying to keep these girls apart..so when i do find a white drake they are 'clean' from any other drakes...


so im guessing as scovies and swedish are different breeds, that theres no real risk of them being fouled by a 'stray' male and producing cross breed ducklings.....is there? or am i gonna have to lock the randy swedish drake up over spring?

 

[FireTigeris]

He can fertilize their eggs, mallard derivative breeds like the Swedish and Muscovy make 'mulards' or 'mule ducks' these will be sterile like a mule (90%+ chance of being sterile with either parent type).

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Ducks/Musc/Mule.html

this talks about that you will get colored ducklings from the cross as the 'white' genes are not at the same place02

That They might be good meat birds, and may be silent- but it was Muscovy over Pekin ducks

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

they would be mules, scovies are the only breed of duck not deriving from mallard

heard they're great meat ducks

 

[Oregon Blues]

There is no problem with 2 breeds of duck breeding. They do it all the time. However, Muscovies aren't even really ducks. They are more closely related to geese than to ducks.

However, the two species can cross breed and you will get sterile offspring. The crosses are rumored to be very good eating birds and teh cross is done commercially to produce meat.

If you ever hope to produce purebred Muscovies, you are going to have to figure out how to keep that Swedish drake out of your Muscovy pen.